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At least 73 people have been killed and 1,000 injured in a riot at a football match in the Egyptian city of Port Said, the worst disaster in the country’s football history, health officials said.

Bet on Football – Get £25 Free “This is unfortunate and deeply saddening. It is the biggest disaster in Egypt’s football history,” deputy health minister Hesham Sheiha told state television.

The game was between Al Ahli, one of Egypt’s most successful clubs, and al-Masry, a team based in Port Said. Live television footage showed fans running onto the field and chasing Ahli football players.

Egypt’s state prosecutors have ordered an investigation into the pitch invasion and the violence that ensued, judicial sources said.

Egypt’s football federation indefinitely delayed premier league matches after the violence, state television reported. Egypt’s parliament would hold an emergency session on Thursday, according to state media reports.

Soon after reports of the pitch invasion spread, Egyptian television showed images of a fire in Cairo’s football stadium, after the referee cancelled a match between the teams Zamalek and Ismaili.

The game was between Al Ahli, one of Egypt’s most successful clubs, and al-Masry, a team based in Port Said. Live television footage showed fans running onto the field and chasing Ahli football players.

Ahli player Mohamed Abo Treika described the violence as war as Masry fans invaded the pitch after the referee blew the whistle, even though the team had beaten Ahli 3-1.

“This is not football. This is a war and people are dying in front of us. There is no movement and no security and no ambulances,” Abo Treika told the Ahli television channel. “I call for the premier league to be cancelled. This is horrible situation and today can never be forgotten.”

State television quoted Hesham Sheiha, deputy health minister, as saying that most of the injuries were caused by concussion and deep cuts.

Violence at football matches across north Africa has increased significantly since political unrest sweeping across the region began more than a year ago.